Monsters And Men
by IWalkBlindlyIntoTheShadows
Summary: In a world of unknown challenges, scientist Wilson Percival Higgsbury finds himself trapped by a mysterious man named Maxwell. As he explores a place where unusual creatures nest, he has one goal: Learn where he is and, from there, find a way home. To do so he must fight, forage, and, most of all, Don't Starve.
1. Chapter 1

_**So, I'm going to try a hand in writing in a fandom that I love but have never written for fanfiction-wise. I know there are plenty of stories out there about Don't Starve and them trying to survive and get out, but I wanted to try and see how everyone felt about my versions of the characters. They're as in character as possible, given their dialogue.**_

 _ **This story will have some headcanons that it'll follow [Wendy being Maxwell/William's niece, Willow being [more strongly] based off the The Firestarter by Stephen King, Woodie dislikes birds due to allergies, as well as some others.**_

 _ **I've loved the game since it came out and I've loved every character that's come out. I play best as Willow, who just happens to be my favourite, followed closely by the adorable little Wes~**_

 _ **Anyway, I'm sure my cooing over characters isn't needed, so let's move on to the story!**_

* * *

Wilson let out a low groan. Forcing open his eyes, everything around him being caught in a momentary haze.

 _What happened?_

 _He remembered there was a radio and a voice._

 _What was the voice saying?_

 _Shadows._

 _Shadows everywhere..._

At the memory of the shadows, the scientist sat up quickly, quick to grasp his head. In the corner of his eye, he spotted a tall figure standing over him. Looking up, Wilson saw it was a man, somewhere in his late forties or early fifties. Well-dressed, Wilson noted, but worryingly pale. Brown eyes met Wilson's wide hazel ones as the scientist made eye contact.

"Say there, pal, that's quite a spill you had there." The stranger's voice was filled with false friendliness, as Wilson noticed the mild stress on the word 'pal'. Yet, there was something familiar, too, to this man's almost casual tone. Realization clicked his his mind buzzed back to the fuzzy memories.

Everything flashed through his mind at once.

He remembered the scientific rut he was in, unable to find enjoyment in his current project. He remembered how a voice on the radio offered to help him.

He remembered how he felt a bit skeptical when he first started on the contraption, which faded as time passed and his project got closer and closer to being finished. He remembered the machine looming above him as he stared at his new creation he had made with literal blood, sweat, and tears.

Wilson flexed the hand he had cut, curling his fingers so that they lightly brushed up against the remaining scar. As he did this, his gaze never left the man.

"You." The man got to his feet quickly, just to stumble back and nearly fall.

"So you remember, hm?" The man's tone never changed. Not even one to surprise or amusement. "Well, then, Higgbury, was it? Welcome to _my_ world."

The man stretched out his arms, prompting the thirty-one year old to look around him. Aside from the patch of meadow he was on, he saw nothing but miles and miles of trees. The song of birds trying to attract themselves a mate whistled in the air. Wilson looked back at the man, cautious.

"You're world?" He asked, as he struggled to find his voice in all the shock. "And might I ask who you are?"

The man offered a grin that sent a chill through Wilson.

"I am known as Maxwell," As Wilson took the time to let this sink in, he noticed Maxwell look to the sky, his expression falling back to the unreadable neutral one. Not that the grin was any more readable, but it gave Wilson a sense that apparently the question was amusing. "But that's enough with pleasantries. Don't want to take up too much of your time. You should grab something to eat before dark."

Wilson had meant to ask more questions, one being if there was even a source of food in the area, but Maxwell had vanished in a puff of smoke. Wilson found himself standing there for a few minutes, or what he assumed where a few minutes, staring at the spot where the man had been. His mind was trying to logically deduce how someone just vanished.

 _It must be a magicians trick._ He figured. _Probably the same trick he used for that machine and it only seemed like I was pulled through a door._

Looking around, it didn't look too different from the woods Wilson had grown up near. A weak smiled formed on his face.

"Yes, that's it," He spoke out loud, rather than keeping the thoughts locked up in his head. It's not like anyone was going to hear. "I've simply been dragged into the woods by an old magician going through a crisis. I'm sure if I keep heading one way, I'll end up back with civilization. If not, the ocean, but that's a simple trek back home once I find myself."

With the confidence of that pep-talk filling him, Wilson glanced towards the sun, knowing better than looking directly into it. It must have just rose, Wilson figured as the damp, early air settled on his skin. After all it had been dusk when he had been kidnapped and he didn't think he had been out for very long. Besides, what advise would eating before dark hold if it were already dusk?

 _I should head West first._ Wilson informed himself holding his head high as he turned away, towards the opposite direction of the sun. The warmth on his back felt rather nice, but he was quick to push the thoughts away. What was important was surviving as he headed home, not enjoying the subtle times that mother nature wasn't trying to kill him with rain, wind, or blistering heat. Or snow. Snow was the worst.

* * *

When the sun sat snugly in the center of the sky, Wilson finally found himself at a change of scenery. He now stood at the edge of the forest, overlooking what seemed to be some sort of plains.

"Strange," The thirty-one year old pondered out loud. "I don't remember living near any place like this."

As he took his first steps into the grasslands, Wilson spotted a flash of brown shuffling through the tall grasses. Freezing, the scientist wasn't sure what to expect, other than the fact this creature had fur. He found himself relaxing when he saw the tiny nose of a bunny poked up.

 _Nothing to worry about._ Wilson told himself proudly. That's when the supposed rabbit poked out the rest of its head. Large, almost soulless white eyes peered up curiously at Wilson. Meanwhile, on the creature's head, were two long, slim horns that curled backwards towards its tail. Its whiskers were very long compared to any rabbit Wilson had ever scene and it was... Rather big for a rabbit or hare or whatever this abomination was.

Light-headed, Wilson stumbled back, frightening the creature, which let out a shriek of fear and fled as soon as he had so much as flinched. A sick feeling went through Wilson. Was he really in another world?

 _N-no. Impossible._ He tried to reason with himself. There was no logical way for a man, or woman for that matter, to send anyone to a different world. However, those horns were clearly protruding from that rabbit's head. And there was no way one would be able to genetically mutate a rabbit with such empty eyes. Even blind animals seemed to have even a mild sense of knowing where they were, so...

"Where am I?" Wilson found his voice was hoarse. Urgency than filled him.

"I-I need to make a camp, I need to find food, I need-"

 _To survive._

Though he refused to accept he was in a different _world_ , Wilson knew he wasn't home. Grabbing a fist full of grass, Wilson tucked them into his pockets. He had no survival training, but he had instincts.

"Grass can make rope, kindle fires-" Wilson paused before he started to rattle off the uses for grass in an attempt to comfort himself into knowing he was making the right choice with grabbing some.

"I need wood for fire-"

 _There's trees behind you. Or, at least bark until you can shape tools._

"Food-"

 _There were several berry bushes. I'm sure some of them aren't poisonous. Test that on the rabbits. If they're not safe, seeds, sap from trees, rabbits._

"Shelter-"

 _Woods behind you. You can make a make-shift home. Leaves or grass for bedding._

"Water-"

 _Wasn't there a pool somewhere back there? If not, berries, assuming they're safe, or chew on moist grasses._

Something in Wilson felt confident... Or, at least a little confident. He was a smart man. Though he didn't have the build for heavy lifting, he was smart and resourceful. He looked up towards the sky.

"You've got this," He told himself as he fixed his gaze on the cloudless sky. "You're Wilson Percival Higgsbury. You're the man who made new machines out of run down old ones. You can survive some silly island until help finds you."

 _But who would want to find you?_

Though a lump formed in his stomach as the thought crossed his mind, Wilson still turned heel back towards the woods, facing ahead of himself. If he was going to survive, he was going to need to start now. Looking at the sky for a split second, he was glad to see the sun hardly moved. He looked back towards the woods, which looked much more ominous since the revelation.

"I will get home." He promised himself, much more quietly than how he had spoken previously. With those words of reassurance, Wilson made his way back through the trees to find himself the supplies he needed. He wasn't going to die as long as he could help it. Not today.

* * *

 ** _And here we go!_**

 ** _So, the first few chapters are going to be just Wilson, but I do plan on introducing some of the other characters._**

 ** _I may not include all of them, but I do know I want to include Willow, Wendy [plus Abigail], and Wes at the very least. Perhaps Wolfgang and/or if I find myself confident enough to write for either of them._**

 ** _Perhaps in a later chapter I'll ask if I should include all the characters. Each character will come into the growing group individually._**

 ** _With that said, I hope you enjoyed!_**

 ** _Question; Since I've stated my favourite Don't Starve characters [Willow and Wes], who is your favourite character [or characters if you have more than one]?_**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Here we are with another chapter of Monsters And Men! I know the Don't Starve series isn't big on fanfiction, but I'm having fun.**_

 _ **XD To be honest, I'm not expecting many views and what not.**_

 _ **So, who here's ready to see where we left off with little Wilson?**_

* * *

The shrill song of birds slowly faded as the sun began to set. Wilson constantly glanced over his shoulder towards the darkening skies. Though dusk never normally bothered him, there was something foreboding in the air the closer it got to night. As he looked back at his work, he was well aware his little camp was far from impressive. His tent was no more than twigs, mud, and leaves leaning against a towering evergreen. His fire was even more pitiful, being just a gathering of twigs, leaves, and many, many handfuls of grass.

 _At least it will keep away predators._ Wilson thought to himself. He let out a sigh and shook his head. Maybe he should have taken up his father's offer on at least a couple of camping trips. It sure would have made him more prepared for such situations of being kidnapped and dumped in the woods far from home.

 _And how would you have known you would have gotten in this situation? Surely, you couldn't have predicted this predicament._ A voice inside of Wilson chided his doubts. Still, just minor camping knowledge would have been better than none. A weak smile found itself forming on the thirty-one year old's lips. He could hear his father's booming voice.

 _"You need to get outside more. People think I was making up the fact I had a son."_ Than the man would laugh heartily. Wilson sighed, a small hint of envy settling in. Nothing ever bothered his father. He had no concerns of the growing world around them, the growing worlds of both science and technology. If only Wilson had been so accepting of such a simple existence. He wouldn't be in the situation he was in now. Or, if he still managed to get kidnapped by that Maxwell fellow, he'd at least be prepared.

Wilson shook away his thoughts, his weary gaze looking towards the setting sun. There was no time to get lost in thought! Quickly, the black-haired male fumbled as he pulled out a couple of pieces of flint he had found while gathering berries and carrots, which Wilson had to admit his berry-only diet wasn't going to come to pass as soon as he had figured. He than hoarded half his twigs, sticks, and grasses into a burn pile. Wilson than began striking the stones together, with the occasional sparks flying from the dark stones.

A sudden flash of fear raced through Wilson, one which he had no explanation for. Glancing over at the sunset, he saw that the sky only had a hint of lingering light before the darkness would take over. Shivering, Wilson looked up at the night sky. His heart sank as he realized there were no stars shining. He looked back towards his flint.

"Come on." He whispered as the sparks once more yielded no flames. Just more disappointment.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Again.

Finally, as the last few strands of light faded over the horizon, there was one last spark. In just a few moments, there was a small flame flickering. Hungrily, it slowly consumed the grasses until it managed to feed off the harder to chew branches. Wilson's heart swelled with joy. He did it! He made fire!

Wilson found himself smiling like an idiot as he watched the small flames lazily tangoed with the soft, eerie breeze that arrived with the darkness. His eyelids began to grew heavy as he found himself relaxing, be it only slightly. He felt a bit overwhelmed with everything that had happened and a part of him just wanted to lay down and sleep. So, as he leaned carefully against the piney evergreen he built his home under, he began to close his eyes.

 _Hsssss._

Wilson's eyes snapped open. Had he just heard a hiss? Looking around quickly, he was wondering if he'd spot whatever creature made such a sharp noise. Shivering a bit, he pulled into himself as he discovered he was still alone. The fire was still burning strong, which told him he hadn't been out very long. Closing his eyes, he tried to relax again.

 _Hhssssssss._

Wilson's eyes snapped open again. That hiss had been much closer now. Looking at the fire, he was surprised to see the flames were a lot lower than they had been before. How long had he been out? What woke him? Throwing small handfuls of grasses and twigs, the flames grasped at the new, dry material and went back to its original state. Wilson watched the flames for a short moment before looking around.

 _Hsss._

It was going away, whatever it was. It didn't like the flames.

 _Must be a nocturnal creature, or one with sensitive eyes._ He figured. It was all he could figure for the moment. He fed the flames a little more, careful not to turn the small fire into a burning inferno. The last thing he needed was to accidentally set everything on fire. With the fire burning steadily, he closed his eyes once more, comfortable with his current condition. Finally, he managed to drift of and embrace the darkness that lived behind his heavy eyelids.

* * *

 _"Wilson, you shouldn't lock yourself in your room all day. I'm sure your science can wait just a few minutes."_

 _"I'm sorry, Father, but I'm working on something big."_

 _"You're cousins won't be here long."_

 _"I'll be out in a moment."_

 _"Alright.."_

* * *

 _What did he look like? What did he sound like?_ Wilson felt the cool air of dawn hit his face as he struggled to remember his father. How many years had it been? He couldn't even remember the last time he visited his family.. He hadn't even attended his father's funeral. He had been so busy at the time.. His mother was probably worried sick over his well being. No doubt his elder brother was still angry. He couldn't recall how many unread letters Wilson had received from Thomas that were probably still sitting on his nightstand, containing his brother's temperamental words of disapproval. And what about Mary? His little sister often forgot he existed because of how seldom he came out of his room.. Would they care that he wasn't home? It's not like he wrote often.. How long until they realized he wasn't at home?

Wilson sat up and shook his head. He needed to not think about such things. Just above head, a red bird chirped to itself as it weaved a small nest in the branches. The scientist found himself watching the bird in it's routine for nearly four whole minutes before he snapped himself to reality. He had never been a morning person. He hated waking up at dawn and being forced to drink the disgusting atrocity that was coffee just to keep himself awake throughout the day. However, he had no choice and he had no coffee. Looking at the fire, he had seen the fire had smoldered out. Only a couple faint wisps of smoke crawled out from the ruins of the small fireplace. They danced so faintly in the dawn breeze, Wilson found himself groggily captivated by it for a moment before he shook his head.

 _Wake up, Wilson. You don't have the time for this!_ He scolded himself. He slowly got to his feet, gathering what supplies had not been used. Checking his berries, which had been carefully wrapped in large leaves to avoid any pests getting to them, Wilson discarded the ones that had began to go bad. He took a small handful and popped them in his mouth, his tired mind taking the time to figure out the flavor, something he hadn't done when he ate and worked yesterday. It tasted much like a blueberry, but sweeter than any blueberry he had ever tasted.

 _However, not overly sweet. There's still that tartness._ He silently observed as he finished grabbed the few remaining twigs and grasses that hadn't been burned. Carefully, he wrapped the berries back up and placed them in his pocket for later. With that, he took off to find a better location for his camp. After all, the strange hissing he had heard that night rang faintly in his ears. He decided to head North, grabbed what material he could find as he walked. As he slipped past some trees growing way to close to each other, his eyes widened in surprise and fear.

Before him sat a large lump of spider webs. The ground around was also laced with the sticky white webs.

"What the-"

That's when the web bundle moved and twitched. From inside the nest, he heard a very familiar sound.

 _Hhhhssssss._

Wilson stumbled back, resting his back to the tree cluster. Out slipped a large, black shape, its large eyes closing slightly as the sunlight it them. It looked around, its long, lean, hairy, black legs gripping the edge of the self-made opening. When it didn't seem to notice him, the large spider slid back into the nest. Meanwhile, Wilson felt bile rise to the back of his throat. Personally, he had nothing against spiders.

Normal spiders.

Spiders that weren't the size of wolf, if not bigger.

To think such a creature had been so close while he slept.. It just made him feel unwell.

Slipping back through the trees, Wilson quickly decided that south was the way to go. No ifs, ands, or buts. He found himself going at a small sprint by the time he reached his old camp. He slowed slightly, but was walking hastily up until he was sure he wasn't going to be seen by the spider. Looking towards the sun, it had just finished coming over the horizon, which stumped Wilson. With how slow his mind had been working up until the spider nest, he had been sure more time had passed. Maybe not noon, but certainly still not so early. Looking back towards the path he began to set for himself, the faint smell of mud and pine caught itself on the northward breeze. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he hoped that it could only get better from here.

* * *

 ** _Woo! Next chapter finished!_**

 ** _So, question of the day; How'd your first night in the game go when you first played?_**

 ** _Personally, I learned the hard way that you needed to make a fire. I mean, I knew when I started, but I spent five days after my first raising sanity because I left Wilson in the dark for a few seconds longer than I probably should have allowed._**


	3. Chapter 3

_**Sorry for the long wait! I've been dealing with writer's block on top of illness on top of personal issues, so it's not been fun .-.**_

 _ **But I'm back and ready to write!**_

 _ **LittleWhiteDove : Thank you! I have many plans for our brave little gentleman scientist and I'm glad you're excited to see where his story goes!**_

* * *

Wilson was kneeling in the tall golden grass of the Savannah, silence hanging in the air over him as he stayed out of sight. He had been here for a week now, where ever 'here' was. He still hadn't really figured that out yet, but he felt like he was on the right path. As his thoughts kept him company, something came into view. Softly bounding out of its hole was a rabbit, or at least he was going to assume it was some sort of lupine just from how it looked and behaved, whose nose twitched curiously as it entered the morning air. It glanced around for a moment before bouncing a little further away from its burrow. As it ventured out, Wilson grasped the axe he had placed on the ground next to himself.

Had it been just a few days ago, the scientist's stomach would have flipped at the thought of using such an instrument to cause harm to any living creature. However, that was a different time and he was well aware that this wild world would show him no mercy. Being very careful to not make a noise, he slunk silently behind the rabbit.

Suddenly, the rabbit jerked its head up and Wilson froze, his breath becoming stuck in the back of his throat. It turned its head and sniffed the air before resuming its peaceful journey through the tall grass. Wilson almost sighed in relief, but stopped himself. Any unneeded noise would send this jumpy creature running. He learned that the hard way.

He grew closer and closer to the rabbit, which had lowered itself to the ground as it basked in the warm sun. As his shadow overtook the creature, it quickly realized what fate was about to come. It let out a shrill noise as it bunched up its small body, ready to run for its life. However, it didn't get that chance. Wilson brought the axe down on the fluffy brown lupine, digging the sharp weapon in its neck.

With the rabbit now limp, Wilson picked up its corpse and headed back to camp. Now came the less fun game of skinning the creature. It was a part that could wait, yes, but at the moment his stomach was overwhelmed at the thought of fresh rabbit with some cooked carrots on the side.

As he approached the end of the Savannah, he was greeted to the very piney forest that he called home. As he descended into the thick trees, he traveled until he found his little clearing, littered with the stumps of fallen trees he had used to make his firepit. Stuck in the stump closest to the pit was his pickaxe, which he had used to chip away at any large stones he managed to find. He found that the stones did good to help him sharpen his flint-made weapons as well as keep the flames in one place instead of accidentally setting his current home ablaze.

He was also painfully aware of the failed and broken weapons that had begun to clutter the area next to his straw bedding. Shaking his head at the mess, he decided to ignore it for now. He would have time to clean up after himself _after_ he made himself something to eat. Grabbing large handfuls of twigs, he tossed them into the smoldered pit as well as a couple of logs. Next, he tossed in bits of dried grass that he often collected from the Savannah so that the flames had something to get them started.

With that, Wilson grabbed a couple pieces of flint and stood over the fire. After several attempts of starting a spark, one finally caught onto one of the clumps of grass and started a small fire. Wilson watched as it grew larger and larger until it started to eat its way through the logs.

That's when he started on the rabbit.

He had never really skinned animals until he started hunting in this strange, new world.

 _Who knew this would have been a skill I needed.._ Wilson sighed. It was strange to think about what life skills were important. He was a man of science and discovery, but here he was preparing a rabbit to eat in the middle of the woods, where he was quite possibly far from home. He thought himself lucky that he at the very least knew how to make fires. It was the weapon making that had been much harder, as well as discovering what was safe and what was dangerous to eat. Glancing up from the now skinned rabbit, he spotted a blue mushroom that sat snugly between two old trees. He had been tempted to pick it, but he was weary. Not only that, but the mushroom always seemed to sink into the ground during the day, much as it was at the moment. He had only really seen it come up at night.

Turning his attention back to the rabbit, he began removing the more inedible parts, such as the paws, eyes, bones, and so on. Once he was left with only the meat, he carefully placed it on a stick and placed the stick over the fire to cook. Carefully placing the rabbit between two larger stones, he made sure it wasn't going to fall into the fire before stepping away to dispose of the remains. He didn't go far, of course. He stepped far enough away from camp for it to be in view as he tossed the left over parts of the rabbit into the forest. Returning to his fire, he was pleased to see that the rabbit meat was still on the stick and that the stick hadn't fallen into the pit.

It took time, but his food was thankfully done before noon. With some fire-roasted carrots and cooked bunny meat, Wilson was proud of himself. His first few times attempting to cook bunnies had not gone this well. The first one had still had its organs and bones on top of being under-cooked, the second had fallen right into the fire and tasted like horrid soot, and the third one had the privilege of being both burnt and under-cooked, a feat he wasn't sure if he should have been proud of or not. Thankfully, he had only gotten better since then.

As he finished his meal, he grabbed his axe and headed deeper into the pines.

* * *

The day had not been as eventful as Wilson would have liked. Granted, he was thankful he hadn't ran into the large spiders since his first night or anything else that could pose a threat to him, but he had been hoping something would have come out of the day. Feeling underwhelmed, the scientist continued his walk around, his pockets stuffed with berries he had liberated off of a bush that he occasionally ate a couple of as he walked to stop any possible hunger. The more he walked, Wilson began to notice that the pines were beginning to thin out. This peeked his curiosity. He had traveled a lot through this forest and this was the first time since he found the Savannah that the trees were becoming a bit sparse.

As the sun drew closer to noon, Wilson found himself standing between the pines and a different forest made more of lumpy looking pines, separated from his by what looked like a walking path. Part of him wanted to see where either end of the path went, another part told to him press on into the forest, and the last part begged him to turn around and head back to camp before the sun was gone.

This left Wilson at a standstill. He wasn't sure which to listen to, though the third option was being heavily outvoted by the other two. He was curious. How much of this world was out there? As he stood at the edge for what felt like eternity, he quickly realized something was watching him. From the distance, caught in the shadows of the lumpy pines, he spotted pale eyes watching him carefully. Whatever it was seemed to stand about five foot five, causing him to shiver slightly. Was this creature a friend or foe? However, before he had the chance to make any sort of noise, it creature seemed to realized he had spotted it and it vanished into the shadows.

"What...?" He fell silent. What was that? Maybe, whatever it was, it wasn't as dangerous as he thought? Every part of him itched to follow. Glancing towards the sky, Wilson figured he had about an hour til the sun even began to sit. Turning back towards where he saw the pale eyes, he made up his mind. He made his away across the path and into the lumpy woods. He gripped onto his axe tightly, reminding himself that he had a weapon in case things went wrong.

Not even a few feet into the woods, Wilson realized that the woods had become thick fast. It was hard not to bump into trees or underbrush as he navigated through the new location. Twigs and pines crunched under his feet as he maneuvered his way through, hoping he was heading in the right direction. After a while, he slowed his pace to a pause, looking back towards the sky. Though he knew he should have turned back, Wilson made his choice to, instead, set up a temporary camp as soon as he found a somewhat safe clearing. Continuing through the woods, he came across a small clearing. It wasn't much of one, but there would be enough room for a fire without burning down the whole forest. Stepping a bit closer, he paused before he could even think of stepping straight into it. Once again, in the shadows, he saw what he thought to be what he had noticed across the woods. It seemed to be looking around for something. Peering closer, Wilson finally got a better look and what he saw shocked him.

 _Another human?_

A small noise, which sounded somewhat like a gasp escaped Wilson, catching the attention of whatever, or whoever, he had encountered. With a sharp turn, it faced him. Wilson couldn't help but notice that there was the sound of fluttering fabric as it turned. Because of the underbrush, he couldn't tell if was exactly human, but if it was, he was almost certain it was female.

"Who are-" His question was cut off when the trees around the figure caught fire suddenly, revealing a young woman, somewhere in her early twenties. Her sharp eyes seemed to dawn with a realization as soon as the flames started spreading rapidly, tearing into every tree and bush it could get its hungry hands on. However, Wilson didn't have time to ponder her surprise. He had to get out of these woods before the flame consumed him. Turned around, he took off into the woods as fast as he could, running and bumping into the thick pines. Smoke started to race past him as a small breeze pushed against his back. He almost didn't want to, but Wilson found himself glancing over his shoulders. The flames were catching up quick, quicker than Wilson would like.

The air was beginning to grow thick as the flames were catching up and the heat was becoming disorienting. Wilson felt an itch in the back of his throat as the fresh air was becoming replaced with thick smoke. He could see what he believed to be the walking path as the heat of the flames clung to his back. However, a misplaced root caught Wilson's foot, causing the man to hit the ground with a thud. Scrambling to get up, Wilson found himself coughing. He needed to get out, he needed to get away.

His urgency rose once he felt a flick of fire brush against his back, almost catching his shirt on fire. Alarmed, he tripped and stumbled until he collapsed outside the forest, right onto the running path. Glancing behind himself, he watched as the forest blazed in anger at the lost catch. As he stared, lightheaded, he remembered the woman, wondering if she got out.

A violent coughing fit stopped him from wondering about her anymore and the heat was making him more than a little dizzy.

 _I need to go back to camp.._ Wilson thought as he forced himself onto his feet once again. He was becoming painfully aware of how much he was sweating due to the intense heat. However, the smoke was blurring his mind just as much as the uncomfortable warmth coming off of the trees. He managed to go a couple of feet before another coughing fit brought him to his knees.

Looking across the path towards his pine forest, he told himself he needed to at least get there. However, when he attempted to get up, the scientist was too lightheaded to even stay standing, instead falling back onto the ground.

Aside from the crackling flames, Wilson heard something behind him.

 _Is this where I die?_ The morbid thought made his stomach flip as he turned to see a figure walking in the flames, towards him. Before he could make out what it was, the heat became too much and the last thing Wilson saw was the wall of fire grasping relentlessly towards the sky before he blacked out.

* * *

 _ **As they say 'curiosity killed the cat'.**_

 _ **However, rest assured that the story isn't over yet.**_

 ** _As for our Question Of The Chapter [Since QOTD only makes sense if this was updated daily]; What's your thoughts on Don't Starve Together?_**

 ** _For me, I'm having a lot of fun playing with my friends, even if I lose my fire resistant advantage as Willow. I also found I'm growing fond of the new character, Winona. I haven't unlocked her personally, but I love her design and the lore behind her._**


	4. Chapter 4

_**And here we returned with another chapter in the adventures of Wilson!**_

 _ **LittleWhiteDove : She's a woman of great first impressions, that's why. XD Mild joking aside, there is an answer to that.**_

 ** _xXPokeFictionXx : Thanks! :D_**

* * *

Wilson groaned as he began to stir. He felt morning dewdrops brush against his face as he shifted slightly. He didn't recall his bedding being so rough and uncomfortable. It almost felt like he was sleeping on the ground. Nearby, he felt the faint warmth of his fire going as the insistent chirps of birds, telling him that morning was here.

 _Strange.. Why does this feel wrong?_

He struggled through his memories, grasping what all happened yesterday. It didn't help that his throat felt uncomfortably dry and itchy. He remembered hunting that morning, than going on one of his long walks to explore the forest he called home. He remembered a figure across an open path.

 _A woman._ He corrected himself, which caught him off guard. How was he so sure that it was-

That's when the memory of the fire set itself ablaze in his mind, how it had started near a young woman with intense eyes. Wilson jerked himself up into sitting position, eyes wide open. It didn't take but a second for him to realize he wasn't at camp with his makeshift bed surrounded by pine trees. He was out in the open, the nearest tree sitting far in the distance. He was on the rough ground, a safe distance away from a much more professional-looking fire pit than his own.

"About time you woke up," Came a woman's voice, laced with what seemed to be mild annoyance. Wilson looked behind himself to see the woman from yesterday. She was sitting on a tree stump, braiding strands of grass into what appeared to be rope, not even looking in his general direction. Wilson finally had a chance to a better look at this stranger, who he could now safely say was human. She seemed to be a slight woman with long black hair pulled into two ponytails and her eyes were a pale, ice blue. She wore a red button-up shirt and a long black skirt that fell all the way down to her ankles. "Honestly thought it would have taken much longer for you to do so, granted, but hey, you're not dead. Good job."

Wilson frowned. The way she spoke didn't seem very sincere, making him wonder if she even wanted to save him.

 _If she didn't, she would have let me die.._ Looking at her, he wasn't sure if she would be the kind to have hidden motives or what they would be if she did.

"Who-" The sharp rasp that came out of his own mouth shut Wilson up before he could even ask who this woman was. The woman herself winced sharply and sent him a dark look.

"Just keep your mouth shut for right now," He was unsure if she was intending to come off so demanding, but he had no time to ponder that. He watched as she grabbed something from the other side of herself. It seemed to be some sort of wooden bowl. She got up and brought the water over, handing it to Wilson. In the bowl was what appeared to be clean water. He opened his mouth to thank her, but was cut off before he even made a noise. "Don't. Just drink the water. I'd rather not hear that ungodly noise come out of your mouth until you're throats better."

 _She's never heard of bedside manners, has she?_

As he took a drink of water, Wilson noticed the woman had returned to her stump. However, instead of working on her rope, she seemed to be watching him carefully. She seemed perplexed. When she noticed he had caught her staring, she simply shrugged and grabbed the rope she had been working on.

"So, I guess this is the part where I apologize for almost killing you, huh?"

 _Most people would right about now, yes._ Wilson wanted to speak, but knew the chances of him being chided for even opening his mouth was too likely to even bother trying. Of course, he wouldn't say such even if he could, seeing as the sudden, sarcastic thought was unwarranted in his current situation.

"I mean, I would assume you would have done the same. After all the tricks that bastard pulled, I wasn't even sure if you were actually human or not til just now."

Though Wilson had caught everything she had said, he choked on his water the moment the young woman swore. Staring at her, wide-eyed, she seemed confused on why exactly he had given her such a stunned look.

"What? I'm just calling him what he deserves to be called." She defended adamantly, frowning at Wilson's negative reaction to what she had said. Clearing his throat of the water that he had swallowed wrong, Wilson decided to attempt to speak.

"That's still rather harsh language for a lady." Though there was still a rasp in his voice, he was glad it didn't sound as bad as it had before. It didn't sound good by no means, but it didn't sound awful. This woman seemed to think otherwise by how she winced a bit when he started speaking. At the mention of being called a lady, she cocked an eyebrow, but didn't make any comment towards it.

"Harsh or not, it's what he deserves to be called. Unless you mean to try to tell me you came to this place _willingly_." She narrowed her eyes slightly. Wilson shook his head.

"Of course not!" He croaked, his voice breaking slightly as he said 'course'.

"For the love of-" She cut herself off with a sigh, clearly irritated with him. "Stop talking so your voice can recover. I swear my ears are about to start bleeding."

A small part of Wilson wanted to argue against the young woman, due to her attitude, but he refused to. Though they were in the same situation, he knew individual people acted differently to the same stress. If her way to cope with being lost was to hold onto a stubborn and sharp attitude, he wasn't going to tell her she was wrong for doing so. It wouldn't be right of him.

Instead, he took another drink from the crafted bowl, now curious as he glanced over at the woman, who he still didn't know the name of. Did she make this herself? Or had she somehow managed to bring something with her? She didn't seem to notice his glances as she continued working on the rope.

 _She works quickly. Perhaps she created crafts where ever she came from?_ He pondered. After he finished the water, he placed the bowl down on the ground on his left. His throat tickled a bit from the smoke and he couldn't help but let out a small cough. That's when she seemed to finally notice his attention was towards her, or at least on what she was doing.

"What?" She still seemed annoyed, but not irritated. Carefully considering how to respond without speaking a word, he motioned towards the bowl and than the rope. She furrowed her brow in confusion for a moment before it seemed to click on what he was referring to. "It's a bowl and a rope. So what?"

He tilted his head, to signify he was confused. He felt silly for doing so, but if she said she would rather him not speak, so he wasn't going to.

She didn't really seem to understand. With a bitter sigh, she placed the rope on her lap.

"Okay, if you're going to speak, do it quietly, and it better be important. If you try actually talking it's just going to make it worse."

"How do you know how to make these?" He was barely above a whisper, the water having calmed the itch and the soreness, but he still sounded scratchy. The woman rolled her eyes, going back to working on the rope.

"That's what was so important?"

Wilson paused for a moment. Perhaps it would be best if he changed the question towards something a little more important.

"What's your name?"

"Now that's actually important question," She responded, looking back towards him. "Willow."

"I'm-" He was cut off as his body forced himself to cough. "Wilson. Wilson Perc-"

"We can stick to first names," Willow interjected. Before Wilson could question why, Willow placed the rope on the log and got up. "Anyway, you're awake now, you've had something to drink, and now I need your help."

"My help?"

"That's what I said, isn't it?" She frowned. "Now, get up. I'm sure it's out in the open now that it's day."

Wilson was confused and he got to his feet. The weight of everything going on was catching up to him. He figured it would be wise to help the woman who saved his life, so he stood in silence, watching as the woman grabbed an axe and what looked like a spear. She shoved the axe into Wilson's hands, keeping the spear for herself. Examining the axe, Wilson realized quickly that this was _his_ axe. He recognized the ugly chip in the blade from where it had gotten stuck in a stubborn, old tree. He went to thank her, for saving his axe, but was met with a ' _shhh_ '.

He followed Willow as the sharp-tongued young woman lead him through the open land to a more forested area, this one appearing to contain what looked like birch trees. This area, Wilson noticed, also contained quite a few berry bushes, all of which are bare.

"That little pest should be around here somewhere." Willow hissed between her teeth.

"What are we looking for?" Wilson rasped as quietly as he could with the hopes she could still hear him.

"You'll know when you see it."

"See wha-" Willow quickly covered his mouth with her hand as she stood next to him. Wilson was clearly cut off guard. Glancing at the black-haired woman, he noticed she was giving him a warning glare. She removed her hand and moved it to her mouth, one finger raised as if to tell him to 'hush'. She than used her spear to motion towards one of the berry bushes. Though this one appeared to be picked clean like the rest, it seemed to be shivering and shaking.

"It's there. It's got to be," She whispered. "We'll flank it. It seems to be busy eating. You go for the bush from here and I'll go around."

Though he was still confused, Wilson nodded. He wished he knew more to what he was agreeing to flank, but it was too late to ask. The moment he had even began to nod, Willow slipped off to approach the bush by the other side. Wilson decided to head towards it as well, heading in the direction Willow had ordered him to. As the two approached the rustling shrubbery, the scientist quickly noticed what sounded like... Gobbling?

He paused for a split second to locate Willow. Was this woman really being threatened by some sort of turkey? Continuing his approach, the rustling suddenly stopped, causing both dark-haired adults to halt in their tracks.

That's when a head popped out, looking Wilson dead in the eye. Before he had time to react, the bird let out a alarmed squawk and pushed him out of the way to get out. Wilson was flabbergasted as he stopped himself from falling over. He was right about it being a turkey. However, he was unaware how _huge_ it was going to be! That bird stood almost as tall as him!

"Swing at it!" Willow ordered quickly, chucking her spear at the large, frightened bird, striking it on the wing. Wilson swung as soon as he could, but all he managed to do was scrape off a few feathers. The creature ran around rapidly, letting out loud, terrified gobbles. Willow shoved past Wilson just as he was about to go chasing it, nearly knocking to full grown man over with the suddenness of her movements. He was quickly to follow after the woman and the bird as soon as he regained his footing. As he caught up, he noticed the bird was blocked between the small woman, a large pond that smelled like salt water, and a cracked rocked that glittered gold between the cracks.

Before Willow noticed he was there, he hurried over, helping corner the startled turkey. It gobbled wildly as Wilson noticed Willow glance in his direction. Without her saying anything, Wilson had a feeling she wanted him to put an end to this large bird. Looking at the wounded poultry, Wilson told himself not to think about it before hurrying towards the fowl and digging his axe into the poor creature's neck until it tore straight through. With a heavy thud, the turkey was dead.

"Nice swing. You kill turkeys often?" Wilson watched the young woman as she approached, using all her might to pull her spear free from the turkey's wing. He wasn't sure if she was being genuine or not due to her tone.

"Not really," He answered cautiously, careful of his volume so his voice wouldn't crack as it recovered, wondering if the question was suppose to be rhetorical or not. "It's not my line of work."

"Too bad," Willow mused as she examined the bird. "You'd do great as a bird murderer."

Wilson watched her for a moment before asking the question that entered his mind.

"So, this is what you needed help with?"

"Yeah. This thing was a berry-eating monster. Don't tell me you haven't encountered one yet." She cast a curious glance his way, a relieving sight from her more bitter expressions. She seemed almost genuinely curious. He shook his head.

"Not really. I survive more off of carrots and rabbits. I rarely grab berries unless I need something to eat while I'm away from camp."

"Than you're lucky," She commented as she seemed to be trying to figure something out. She glanced over at Wilson for a moment. "I don't suppose you're secretly the bodybuilding type, huh?"

"No... Why?"

"Cause if you were, dragging this bird back to camp would be a lot easier," She sighed. "But, if you are willing to help, I guess I could throw in some of the meat of you."

Wilson went to reply, not sure if he was fully willing to try to drag an animal almost as tall as he was, but was cut off by the sounds of distant barking.

"What was that?" Wilson asked cautiously in his normal speaking volume, not even paying any mind to the fact his voice cracked a bit.

"Not sure, but it doesn't sound good.." Willow responded. Wilson glanced back at the young woman, quickly noticing she had a lighter in one hand and her spear in the other. Did she always have that lighter? He couldn't remember seeing her grab it, but perhaps she always had it with her? He wasn't sure. All he knew was the barking was getting closer. However, no matter how much louder the barking got, neither of them seemed to be able to pinpoint where it was coming from. In fact, it sounded like it was coming from every direction.

"We need to get out of here." Willow said suddenly.

"Righ-" Before Wilson could finish just the one word, he froze. Just on the horizon, from the direction of Willow's camp, were three large, hulking, canine-like shapes that appeared to be approaching rapidly.

* * *

 ** _These seems like a good place to leave off!_**

 ** _Seems like Wilson and his temporary companion are dealing with a lot more than they asked for._**

 ** _Question Of The Chapter - How much do you like our friendly, neighborhood turkeys in Don't Starve?_**

 ** _Personally, as a bird person, they're cute, but at the same time my berry farms will never be safe._**


End file.
